Acquiring knowledge around key sustainability factors and connecting with like-minded individuals are both key to driving a positive shift towards a better future.

Visitors to The Green World Tour at METAStadt in Vienna can find out more about two study programmes, featuring alternative economics, as well as sustainable design and engineering, which give participants fresh insight to drive forward a green agenda.

The team behind the award-winning Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems (AEMS) summer school and Green.Building.Solutions. (GBS) will be at the Green World Tour, at stand number 35, on 5 and 6 May, to share more information.

Both programmes are held in Vienna, with AEMS taking place this year between 25 July and 10 August, and GBS between 21 July to 12 August.

The OeAD-Housing Office – part of Austria’s national agency for international mobility and cooperation in education, science and research – operates both AEMS and GBS under a not-for-profit arrangement.

Included in the fee are all social and cultural activities, as well as accommodation in one of OeAD’s passive house student residences in Vienna.

The accommodation is also included as part of the fee for almost a week following each programme, enabling those participants to explore the city at leisure.

Günther Jedliczka, CEO of the OeAD-Housing Office, said: “Both AEMS and GBS attract exceptional lecturers and forward-thinking, astute students who are committed to a more sustainable future.

“AEMS draws in a global following among students of all ages and from all walks of life who are looking for a common solution to tackle financial uncertainty.

“It looks at alternatives to the current boom and bust economic cycle and explores the economy of the future and how it can adapt to balance some of the turmoil, strains and challenges of modern life.

“GBS is another international programme, which brings together passive house and sustainable, smart city expertise from across the globe to identify ways to make buildings more sustainable

“It receives applications from students and professionals alike in the field of architecture and professions relating to the built environment, who want to learn how to develop new skills to design and build sustainable cities in an environment that includes workshops, lectures, fact-finding visits and insight from world-leading academics.”

The course cost for AEMS is €1390, while GBS is priced at €2,490 for professionals and €2,000 for students.

More details about both AEMS and GBS – including testimonials from 2017’s participants – can be found at www.summer-university.net.